AmericasEnvironmentOffshore

Taylor Energy president tells public meeting that 11-year oil leak was an ‘act of God’

The president of Taylor Energy on Wednesday told a public meeting that an infamous and continuing leak from one of his firm’s oil rigs was an “act of God”, according to the Associated Press.

William Pecue also told the audience, comprising many industry executives and environmentalists, that he cares about the environment.

The gathering in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was one of the conditions of a legal settlement the company made with green groups last December.

A rig owned by New Orleans-based Taylor Energy was toppled during Hurricane Ivan in September 2004 and a number of its wells were buried under sediment.

The wells have been leaking into the waters, just 10 miles off the coast, ever since.

Last year the company was found to have seriously underplayed the extent of the leak.

Taylor Energy sold all its offshore leases and oil and gas interests in 2008. The company now is solely focused on working on the leak and Pecue is the last remaining full-time employee.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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